#its like if alex was likable in any way

[blueopinions49]

Understanding Type 7

An intro to enneagram 7

Alex Russo (WOWP) ESTP 7w8 sp/sx

Core Desire (Fullfilment)- They crave joy and happiness. They love the idea of a truly satisfied life. 

Vice (Gluttony)- Will look to ignore reality in order to find more pleasurable outcomes in which pain isnt a possibility. 

Fixation (Exploration)- They are interested in looking for multiple ways to find enjoyment in their life. 

Wings

7w6 (The Pathfinder)- Due to the 6 wing this type 7 will focus in interpersonal side of joy. They will look for comfort and joy in the company of others. They are Enthusiastic and kind. They can be seen as goofy or childish. Maybe be a bit anxious compared to the 7w8. Since their wing is 6 they will focus on being more likable and approachable to others. 

7w8 (The Opportunist) - The 7w8 finds joy on its own power and ambition. They are less jovial than the 7w6 and more grounded in reality and focused on the reality of things rather than distracting themselves with interpersonal connections. Due to the wing 8 they can be seen as uncaring and uninterested in anything concerning themselves. 

Triads- Head (5-6-7)

While E5 distracts themselves with knowledge and the E6 district themselves through interpersonal journey the E7 runs away in from orders in order to find joy and fun. 

Harmonic Triad- Positive (2-7-9)

Will create situations to distract themselves from the bad things In life even if it is self sabotaging. 

Hornevian Triad- Assertive (3-7-8)

They have a demand to have fun and can be seen as entitled to get what they want in this demand.

Object Relations- Frustration (1-4-7)

Will have shallow experiences in life in the look for true emotional satisfaction. 

Subtypes

Social (so)- Since this is the counter type of 7 this subtypes will not focus on the look for joy and happiness through their selfish wants but rather will focus on acts of virtue and service in order to help others. Due to being a Soc type they will focus on the outer world in which they can create a world where everyone can expirience joy and happiness equally. This subtype will counter the 7s vice (gluttony) through acts of service and due to this they may look like E2. 

Ex- Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) ENFP 7w6 so/sp, Buffy Summers (BTVS) ESFP 7w6 so/sx and Dani Clayton (THOBM) ENFP 7w6 so/sx 

Sexual (sx)- This subtype will focus on the look for an interpersonal relationship that can make them forget the world away. They want to find joy through an ideal relationship. Their view of the world tends to be more empathic and kind that it actually is. Often will ignore the bad of situations and others due to this. This subtype isnt interested in subverting their gluttony but finding it through interpersonal connections. They want to attract others with this idea of the world as a Utopia. They can look like E8 or E9. 

Theodore “Laurie” Laurence (Little Woman) ISFP 7w6 sx/sp , Maya Ishi-Peters (PEN15) ESFP 7w8 sx/so and Jules Vaugh (Euphoria) ENFP 7w6 sx/sp

Self-Preservation (sp)- The self-preservation 7 will over indulge in their own needs and will often only associate who agree with these needs. Due to this they are good at social networking and will often be surrounded by allot of friends. They often prioritize social networking and they find joy in the distraction of their own social needs and they tend to be the one that indulges in their gluttony the most. They can often look like E3 (but without the interest in status or goals) or E6 (Without the anxiety and paranoia). 

Ex- Fleabag ENTP 7w8 sp/sx , Ava Coleman (Abbott Elementary) ESTP 7w8 sp/sx and Hailey Dunphy (Modern Family) ESTP 7w8 sp/sx 

Moves (Positive and Negative)

Moves to 5

Positive-  They learn to become more objective and will be more careful with their habits. Will present a more mature and composed exterior. 

Negative- They'll become aggressive and avoidant of any responsibility

Moves to 1

Positive- Gains a lot of more discipline and control over their actions. 

Negative- Frigid and uninterested in anything other than being nitpicky and stingy. 

#mbti #zodiac #zodic signs #personality types #16 personalities #ennegram #mbti personality types #enneagram #enfp personality #esfp personality #mbti esfp #enfp characters #enneagram 7 #7w6 #7w8 #fleabag #pen15 #modern family #laurie laurence #elizabeth bennet #jules vaughn #ava coleman #abbott elementary #buffy summers #buffy the vampire slayer #haunting of bly manor #dani clayton #little woman 2019 #alex russo #wizards of waverly place

[random-thought-depository]

Sequel to this post, some notes for the Species II rewrite fic I intend to write eventually:

Note: everything in my Sil headcanons post (see link above) will inform my rewrite fic. Also, for purposes of my rewrite fic the sequel movies basically didn't happen, only the first movie is "real" and I will be extrapolating directly from it and treating any unanswered questions in it as blank slates to be filled in with whatever I like. I will freely contradict the writing and worldbuilding choices of the sequel movies whenever it pleases me to do so.

The premise I use is that Sil gave birth to twin boys. The one we see in the first movie is the bolder twin, he wasn't afraid of the humans, didn't hide from them, attacked them, and got torched. He had a twin brother who was more timid, who was more afraid of the humans and hid from them and so survived. I like this much better than the space goo infection thing the actual Species II movie did because 1) it's a more straightforward extrapolation from the first movie, 2) much more importantly, it lends itself much better to a male creature who's interesting in the same way I find Sil interesting. I also like how this gives an immediate hint of characterization.

At one point somebody asks Sil's son his name and he gives himself the name Alex.

I'm going with a "the female of the species is deadlier than the male" angle here: Alex is more timid and less aggressive than Sil. He's much less dangerous than Sil in the short term, but maybe more dangerous in the long term; he doesn't leave a trail of corpses like Sil does, he keeps a low profile, he doesn't draw much attention to himself, and he's much less likely to be noticed by the authorities.

Another inversion of gender expectations: Alex's reproductive strategy is much more focused on careful partner selection and building a relationship with his human partner and getting her to like him. He doesn't have the luxury of treating his human partner as a disposable sperm donor like Sil did! That said, this isn't always nice: he hooks up with an undocumented immigrant woman named Rosa because he picks up from her surface thoughts that she'd be reluctant to go the hospital if there was something strange and disturbing happening with her body. Note: Alex has some plurality going on, the part of him that's very focused on survival and reproduction makes that choice, but it doesn't pass on that information to the more human part of him, which experiences his initial interaction with this woman as "Oh, she's struggling with that big bag of groceries, I should help her, if I help her maybe she'll give me some positive attention, I'd like that" and ending up in a pleasant conversation with her (Rosa reads Alex as an 18-20 year old probably neurodivergent person with a possible history of being neglected/abused, she's thirty-something and feels kind of maternal toward him and eventually ends up letting him stay in her apartment, their relationship eventually drifts toward being romantic).

Alex's human personality is kind of genuinely charming and nice in a very acts of service oriented way, though not very talkative and pretty socially awkward because of his under-socialization (an early incident in his relationship with Rosa is her witnessing in horror him eating an egg by putting it in his mouth raw and whole with the shell still on it and crunching it and being like "OMG, who raised you?!?"). Alex's more evolutionary fairy human-ish side tends to kind of segregate itself in its own corner of his brain and nudge him around with "I just get a feeling that..." impulses while keeping its ickier motivations and calculations to itself. Sil was much more unitary because being likable to humans was less important to her.

Rosa's pregnancy is definitely going to be anomalous and a pretty scary experience for her, but I'm not going to make it chestburster-y. I think the actual Species II movie making the male creature's life cycle chestburster-y was kind of a big mistake, because it made it impossible for him to be sympathetic in the way Sil was sympathetic. I think it's pretty important to Sil's characterization that, while she is definitely an amoral and violent person, most of her violence was at least kinda-sorta defensive (I think her most morally inexcusable act was the killing of a sexual rival, and even that plausibly might have felt kinda-sorta defensive from the inside). It's pretty easy to imagine a version of her that pursued her basic goals but didn't kill people (or at least killed a lot fewer people). Giving her male equivalent a chestburster-y life cycle totally changes that dynamic, it makes him relate to humans in a fundamentally predatory way and it makes it impossible for him to pursue his basic goals without killing people. I'd prefer to continue the spirit of the first movie.

So, Rosa is going to get a pretty scary anomalous pregnancy, considerably accelerated (maybe something like 3-4 months instead of the usual nine) and with alarming symptoms like cravings for bloody meat and an urge to gnaw bones (it's the iron and calcium!), but at the end of it she's going to have a fairly normal birth (at home, without professional help, in pretty scary circumstances, but, you know, pretty physically normal) and she's going to be physically OK, she's going to live to see her daughter grow up (within, like, a few months of the birth, because her daughter is going to have the same accelerated growth and maturity Sil did - litter size is controlled by the mother, so in this case there will be only one baby, as in a normal human pregnancy). The story's danger and horror, insofar as it's around, will mostly be elsewhere.

Thoughts on Alex's and Rosa's daughter, tentative name Lucia: she's the first member of her kind who's going to grow up in a family, with caregivers who see her as their child and in Alex's case have some firsthand idea of the needs of a child like her (because they were one, and didn't get theirs met), so she'll definitely be the least psychologically messed up member of her kind so far.

Illustrative example: Sil and Alex were afraid when their metamorphosis happened because they didn't know what was happening, Lucia will have a much more benign experience because Alex is going to explain it to her beforehand and her parents will be with her when it happens (like I said in my other post, I strongly headcanon that Sil would have done that with her son(s) if she'd lived; she would have wanted to spare them the fear she felt).

Relatedly, Lucia has a pretty weak breeding instinct because it isn't synergizing with loneliness. She kind of likes the idea of having a baby of her own someday, like lots of human women do, but she isn't motivated to get pregnant in the immediately foreseeable future. She already has a family, including a person who's different from humans in the same way she is; she doesn't need to make a companion who can relate to her experiences.

As I said in my other post, my idea for how Sil could possibly start a viable species with one individual is her descendants would discard the DNA of their human parent during meiosis. So genetically Lucia is basically the child of Sil + Rosa. I envision her looking pretty different from Sil because she has a dark-skinned Hispanic or indigenous mother.

For a long time I was held back from working on this fic because I couldn't figure out if it should have an antagonist and, if so, who that should be. The government is an obvious possibility: if they learned about Alex and Lucia they'd want to kill or capture them; the idea of making something kinda-sorta like the plot of the first movie but with the sympathies basically flipped was intriguing. But this seemed kind of uninspiring. But recently I had an idea: the obvious more interesting option is to have Eve exist in this rewrite fic and make her the relative baddie!

Sil had a sister. Probably not a clone in this version.

After what happened when they tried to kill Sil, they decided to spare Eve for the time being. She did not escape.

She had basically the same kind of upbringing as Sil, and has basically the same kind of intelligent but under-socialized personality. She's got a relatively positive relationship with Dr. Baker, kind of like in the actual Species II movie, and this has been her primary source of positive socialization, but this started when she was already an adult

She had an unreliable and mostly one-way psychic link with her sister. They could share dreams sometimes. Eve got secondhand impressions of some of Sil's experiences in the outside world. She kept a lot of them to herself. She didn't particularly want to help the humans find her sister. Eve wants out of her jar too.

She's got a tenuous psychic link with Alex too. She knows he's out there.

She gets an idea for how to escape. She offers herself as a bloodhound and a honeypot. She can psychically home in on Alex, find him, lure out of hiding and into a trap with the possibility of getting to mate with one of his own kind. Of course, this will necessarily involve a loosening of control over her...

Biggest hurdle might be convincing her handlers Alex exists. There might be very little hard evidence for that! But eventually she manages. Maybe a more thorough re-examination of forensic evidence from that cave finds something; Alex is a fraternal twin of his dead brother, genetically distinct, and might have left some trace DNA lying around here and there. Next hurdle is slipping control when she's allowed outside; she manages that too. It isn't easy, but she is clever and physically superhuman...

She finds Alex, takes up residence near him, watches...

She's undecided about what to do. Part of her wants to be a good girl and call in his location just like she was supposed to (she has genuine affection for Dr. Baker!). Part of her wants freedom and wants to mate with him. She spends a long time deciding.

She approaches him for mating, and... he rejects her! He already has a family, people he cares about, and correctly senses she'd be a threat to them. Outrageous! An inversion of the natural order! The male is supposed to court, the female is supposed to select!

He'd accept her if she killed his human mate and their child. Like the lioness will mate with the triumphant lion that took over the pride and killed her cubs. Maybe she'll do that. She's pretty sure she can. Alex was the weak timid runt of his litter, and Lucia the product of the mating of him and a small, weak woman; she is superior to them.

Maybe she'll be a bad girl and do that.

Maybe she'll be a good girl and call in their location, please Dr. Baker, prove that Dr. Baker wasn't wrong to trust her and advocate for her.

She's not sure yet.

#Species #fix-fic #rewrite fic #fanfic ideas

[meetsthebones]

i cant stop thinking about how the movie did alex so dirty . Alex claremont-diaz is my silly rabbit my right hand arm man i seriously adore him as a narrator and protag but for whatever reason the movie robbed him of everything that made him interesting!!!! and its not even taylor's fault as an actor (tho next to nicholas his performance.... was not great) it's just the way they shaped the story for the movie like cutting out the two characters besides henry who are most relevant to alex's growth and eliminating his anxiety and barely showing the progression of his feelings for henry AND JUST STRAIGHT UP GIVING THE SCENE WHERE HE REACTS TO THE EMAIL LEAK TO HENRY? FOR NO REASON? like i know its bc that's a june scene but if they're going to cut june then JUST HAVE NORA FILL JUNE'S ROLE IN THAT SCENE IT STILL WORKS FINE. like idk if any of my followers watched the movie without reading the book but be honest would you have guessed that not only is alex the sole narrator of the entire novel but that he is really GOOD at it. and really interesting and funny and complex and likable and fun.

#rwrb

[letstalkabouttvshows]

RNM, 4x01

I loved this episode.

It was a solid season premiere, way more balanced than previous episodes and it's sad to know this is the last season when it feels like RNM finally found its way.

I didn't even dislike Maria in this episode 😲 Although it seems like she is gonna be a pain about losing her powers so she can live. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Let's wait and see how the writers gonna make her deal with all of that.

Maybe last season will be it to make Maria likable again?

But anyways, I'm sad for Kyle. The guy has been working nonstop as a way to avoid Iz, obviously. 💔

I still don't know how Isobel hasn't picked up on Kyle's feelings for her. I assume eventually she will and that might give us the funniest and sweetest scenes ever.

Her and Anatsa relationship it's not very convincing.

I think Anatsa would be a great addition to the show if they had time to develop her story arc. Which I'm assuming they won't. The I love you felt rushed and I'm sure soon enough the relationship will be over and forgotten.

Although it's seems she'll stick around until episode 4. 😳🤔

Max trying to propose was ... something. I never got the wedding feelings for Echo as their happy ending. Liz always wanted to see and do. For me, a better ending for them would be living their lives out of Roswell, together.

But, as Liz said, she'll say yes when the time is right. 💞

Speaking of timing, the introduction to the new characters was so well done.

The Tezca character (I think that's her name) didn't have to say a word for us to know she's gonna be trouble. 😳

Bonnie and Clyde seem to be motivated by misguided purpose but, my guess is they gonna turn up good, eventually.

The Alighting seems like an end of time sorta deal.

Very intrigued by what it actually is. Maybe our favorite aliens will need to head back to their home planet. Maybe they'll fight like hell to protect the true home they found on Earth and its humans. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Speaking of aliens and humans, Malex was a highlight in this episode. 🥰🥰🥰

It couldn't possibly be any other way. Domestic-angsty, who knew would be so good?

Michael's nerves getting the best of him just points out how much he loves Alex and doesn't want to screw it up. The guy is a genius who can build very difficult things and yet, his nerves (and his low self-esteem) didn't let him fix the gazebo model.

It's a nice callback to 3x13 bunker scene where Michael is terrified that something he'll do will break him and Alex up again.

The fear of losing everything for someone that always had nothing is so understandable.

Dallas and Max calling how it was just proved Michael never intended to back down from living together, but that didn't mean his insecurities would go away. He needed to let it out.

So he talked to Dallas, he talked to Max, and, to Dallas again. But what got through to him was coming back home and talking to Alex about it.

Alex was upset. A cute upset with the crossed arms, sitting on that couch just waiting for Michael☹️

Can you imagine being so happy about moving day (Alex was so pleased to be sharing everything he has with Michael) and then coming home and not seeing the love of your life but just a key on the table?

Alex handled the situation with the skill he has mastered over a decade: loving Michael Guerin.

There was just so much love in Alex's words to Michael, in a way that reassured Guerin but also allowed Alex to be vulnerable too. 🥺💜

The growth of both of these characters. They have been through so much since 1x01 but now they are finally there. In a place that's for forever.

Rating for 4x01: 9/10. It's not a 10/10 for me because Alex Manes should have been in more scenes and the birthday party should have been longer.

#malex #roswell new mexico #michael guerin #alex manes #rnm episode review

[bmaxwell]

Life is Strange: True Colors

I have a weird history with DONTNOD and the Life is Strange series. It's the first major "Choices Matter" game I played. A group of friends and I played through it concurrently and discussed spoilers and choices, with "Why did you do THAT?" and "Oh so wait, this didn't happen in your game?"" and so on. It's a great way to play one of these. And I really love the game despite its flaws.

The follow up game - aptly named Life is Strange 2 - didn't land for me in the same way. I have a pretty low misery threshold, and LiS 2 exceeded my limit. Tell Me Why (a similar kind of game from DONTNOD) landed better for me, but the story's ending left me wanting. True Colors was being developed Deck Nine (the developer behind Life is Strange: Before the Storm which I didn't play) instead of DONTNOD, so my expectations for True Colors weren't especially high.

As with the previous 2 games on the list, I played this one with my wife and firstborn. We pass the controller around, offer advice, and generally make choices by committee. It's a great way to get some insight into how our brains work differently, how we interpret various mannerisms and speech patterns of characters, and where our moral compasses guide us.

True Colors has heart. It has a strong emotional core. New protagonist Alex Chen is relatable and likable, easily the best lead the series has had. The series always has revolved around a character who has supernatural powers; Max had the power to rewind time, and Daniel has telekinetic abilities. Alex, on the other hand has the power of Empathy. Did you roll your eyes or suck in air through your teeth and slightly shake your head after reading that? Because I definitely did when I first learned about it.

Thankfully it is executed very well and works on a different level from the previous two titles. Even though it's supernatural, it has its roots firmly in the human experience. Most of us have some form of empathy; whether we nurture it or try to suffocate it, it's there. You've seen someone crying and felt for them, or felt uplifted in a room full of laughter? Alex has that but it's coming in at high voltage with zero filter.

Alex Chen takes on any powerful emotions nearby. If someone is shocked, sad, or enraged in her vicinity, she feels that too. She can try to fight it or try to take it onto herself to defuse a situation. It's bewildering and hard to wade through. In one scene she attacks someone in a fit of rage that she's taking on for someone else. And you end up in scenarios where you want to help someone, but taking on their pain can be harmful to you and not always ultimately beneficial to the person. Anger, sorrow, elation, shame, ecstasy, guilt...these are all valid, human emotions that serve a purpose. There aren't too many black and white choices, and shades of grey are where life gets interesting.

Of course Alex has her own story and her own intrigue outside of this ability. She's the new girl in town, a stranger who quickly loses her only connection. From there we get into the sort of local lore, cover-ups, and secrets I want from a small town drama.

I found myself rooting for Alex, worrying for her, and getting to know and love the characters in the small Colorado town of Haven Springs. The cast of characters who are all endearing, slightly weird, and maaaaybe hiding something is wonderful.

Alex befriends a local DJ who runs a record shop. There's a nice lady who runs a flower shop in town. Alex lives in an apartment above the town bar down the street from the dispensary. There's a section of the game that involves the characters getting into cosplay and going around the town LARPing. It's a lovely, homey little place; the writers and artists did a great job of making Haven Springs feel like another character in their story. The cast and the setting are important because I need to have the sense that there is something worth caring about and fighting for. I've experienced plenty of games, movies, and TV shows where I don't have anyone to latch onto.

I love these characters and I want to hang out in Haven Springs. The game isn't perfect of course, as the way the story wraps up asks the player to accept one coincidence too many. No matter though, I find myself agonizing over choices that don't have a clear right/wrong split, and that couldn't happen if I wasn't invested in the cast. For me the journey was great regardless of the destination.

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Lady of Fortune by Mary Jo Putney

Mary Jo Putney knows how to write a good historical romance, re-released or not, so I was delighted to delve into this one. And I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. This was a light and pleasant romantic respite full of tropes I love, characters I could root for, and a (sort of) forbidden love that traversed social classes.

Christa is a countess who is forced to flee France during the Reign of Terror. After losing her mother and her half-brother, Charles, on the journey to London, she arrives only to find herself penniless. So she does what she thinks she must to provide for herself, and shucks her aristocratic background, with all its titles and privileges, to become a lady's maid.

Sent home on medical leave after years of braving the seas for the British navy, Captain Lord Alex Kingsley is now head of his family and in charge of his two younger siblings. He feels a special responsibility to his sister, Anabelle, who is a shy and unconfident debutante about to enter her first Season. Knowing she's in need of an abigail, he sets out to find her a suitable one. However, before he can start his search in earnest, Christa is thrown - literally thrown - into his arms and in search of such a position herself. Seems like fate, right?

Anyway, it isn't long before Christa earns the favor of the entire Kingsley family. With her sunny disposition, her kindness, and her exceptionally broad intellect, it seems like there is nothing she can't accomplish and no one's heart she can't stir, Alex's especially. With the chasm in their social classes acting as a barrier, will they be able to keep their mutual attraction at bay? Or will love, and Christa's secret about her life, still manage to find a way to bring the walls down?

The characters in this were wonderful. So warm and likable. I also liked that this was written in an omniscient third person perspective, which isn't something I see much in this genre any more, because it allowed me to look in on the story, as well as the romance, as if it were a roll of film slowly unfolding. I think that helped me savor the sweetness of each obstacle being removed between Christa and Alex until they could be together, until they could admit they were in love with each other. I love me some slowburn tension, what can I say?

Special thanks to Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #lady of fortune #mary jo putney #historical fiction #historical romance #romance #georgian era #recs: ashlee approved! #read february 2023 #coming february 2023 #bookblr #booklr #book reviews #book recs

[mosekristensen]

Technoblade, 'Minecraft' YouTube Creator, Dies Aged 23

Technoblade Techblade, the most popular Minecraft YouTuber, has died aged 23 after a battle with cancer.

Technoblade his father, who is the creator, posted a touching video to YouTube on Thursday titled "so long geeks". It included a message by Technoblade. His father said that the video was made in collaboration with his family in his final months. However, Technoblade wrote it eight hours before his death. In the message the rapper revealed his real name: Alex.

"Hello everyone, Technoblade here. This is what you should be seeing. He wrote, "I am dead," in a message that was read by his father. "Thank you all for your support of my content over the years. I'm convinced Technoblade would be my preferred choice if I had another hundred lives. Those were the most joyous years of my life.

His father stated in the video that he was "the most amazing child anyone could ever wish for." Technoblade is my personal favorite.

Technoblade who has 10.8 million subscribers on YouTube announced his cancer diagnosis on the platform in August 2021.

Technoblade's family issued a statement that appeared at the end of the video on Thursday.

"We, the family of Technoblade, wanted you all to know just how much he loved and valued his followers and colleagues. Technoblade was an online community from its infancy. He was always looking for ways to delight and honor his followers," it said.

"Even after his eventual success he managed to maintain his good-natured modesty, competing with a likable balance between self-confidence and self-deprecation with. He was averse to fame and made every effort to keep his true identity secret. We ask you to honor his wishes to guard his privacy and the privacy of his family."

Technoblade's online store has a tribute message to the singer, stating that a portion of the proceeds from online orders will be donated to the Sarcoma Foundation of America. Technoblade's family will run the store online. We are grateful for the joy he's brought us throughout the years, and we would like to continue spreading his message," it says.

The store's online store is a black T-shirt on sale with the words "so long nerds," followed by "Alexander 'Technoblade'" and "1999-2022" underneath.

Technoblade's family and friends have also posted incredibly touching tributes to him on the internet. Some are fellow creators and collaborators, while others have watched the YouTuber for a long time.

Hypixel, an online Minecraft minigame server, has posted an impressive tribute to Technoblade, too, as he was a frequent player on the server. Simon Collins-Laflamme who was the founder and CEO of Technoblade has stated in a statement that he was "one of the most loved YouTubers".

The post reads, "He will be remembered fondly but deeply missed," "He was a generous and talented young man with a lot of potential. We are extremely grateful to him and are happy to be able to count him as a prominent part of the greater community. In many ways the success of many of us is directly related to Technoblade's success. Technoblade.

The team also encouraged users to pay tribute on "any main lobby" on the server, with the consent of Technoblade's family.

Technoblade launched his channel in 2013 and quickly gained acclaim. SKIN NIGHT Technoblade has been dubbed "one of the best Minecraft players in the space of content creators".

#SKIN NIGHT #Just another wordpress site

[eats-the-stars]

Book Recommendations

So here’s some books I’ve read recently that were pretty good.

1) A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White

Book Overview: A washed-up treasure hunter, a hotshot racer, and a deadly secret society. They're all on a race against time to hunt down the greatest warship ever built. Some think the ship is lost forever, some think it's been destroyed, and some think it's only a legend, but one thing's for certain: whoever finds it will hold the fate of the universe in their hands. And treasure that valuable can never stay hidden for long. . .

My Review: A really solid sci fi book. The world-building is on-point and I like the way the author combines magic and high technology. It feels very natural and isn’t overly technical. You understand very quickly and easily how magic and technology interact and function in this world, which I appreciate. I like the plot. It’s a very classic “race for the treasure” plot that I enjoy. I also like the two main characters quite a lot. The washed-up treasure hunter is a woman in her forties named Boots who used to be a soldier. The hotshot racer is a young woman named Nilah. They both have plenty of flaws without being unlikable to the reader, and they both get development as the story progresses. The supporting characters are all also very interesting and likable. I know people also look for representation in books they’re thinking of reading, and I went into this expecting none but besides having two woman as lead characters, Nilah is explicitly bisexual, and Boots is disabled and also has PTSD. Also I should mention that I don’t think homophobia exists in this universe, which is pretty cool. I haven’t read the next two books in the series yet, but I plan to pick them up from the library next week. Warnings...well, there is a lot of action, and also murder. So be aware that people do die in this book.

2) The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan 

Book Overview: A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy. Enter a city of saints and thieves . . . The city of Guerdon stands eternal. A refuge from the war that rages beyond its borders. But in the ancient tunnels deep beneath its streets, a malevolent power has begun to stir. The fate of the city rests in the hands of three thieves. They alone stand against the coming darkness. As conspiracies unfold and secrets are revealed, their friendship will be tested to the limit. If they fail, all will be lost, and the streets of Guerdon will run with blood.

My Review: This is a pretty good fantasy novel. There’s a tumblr post somewhere that says: big fan of the genre that’s just “what if there was a fucked up city.” This book gives me those vibes. Guerdon definitely qualifies as a fucked up city. I like the world-building. And I also like the main characters: Carillon, Spar, and Rat. It was interesting to see a ghoul (Rat) as a main character of any kind. You don’t usually see a protagonist who eats dead human flesh. And I liked the concept of a Stone Man (person infected with a plague that causes them to slowly turn to stone). Spar had to rely on regular doses of “Alkahest” to remain mobile and help arrest his condition. So while there is no stone plague in real life, I would count him as disability rep. I was also invested in several supporting characters. The story does fall apart a bit in terms of plot. It jumps around quite a bit and can get confusing, but I liked the gut-punch of the ending, and I still enjoyed reading the book despite some flaws in the design. My favorite part was probably the world-building. Warnings...well, I mentioned the fact that ghouls eat human corpses, so there’s that. There are also some fairly grisly deaths that occur. The author gets a bit creative with all the ways that magic can kill you in this setting.

#books #book recs

[brokehorrorfan]

New Release Review: Under Wraps (2021)

Premiering in October of 1997, Under Wraps was the inaugural Disney Channel Original Movie. The wildly popular cornerstone of the network's programming was, along with the likes of ABC's TGIF and Nickelodeon's SNICK, as close to appointment viewing as it got for '90s kids. Perhaps even more importantly, Under Wraps served as a gateway into the horror genre for many millennials. Before the age of streaming, if you didn't independently seek out the horror section at the video store or have a cool older relative to expose you to it, catching a mummy movie on the same channel you watched Disney cartoons and Boy Meets World reruns could have been your first exposure to the macabre.

Disney hopes to recapture the magic with a remake of Under Wraps, which will premiere on the Disney Channel before being made available on Disney+. The original movie was successful - and continues to hold up 24 years later - for several reasons; relatable kid leads, a great Halloween atmosphere, and a sense of humor chief among them. Director/co-writer Alex Zamm (A Christmas Prince, Inspector Gadget 2) and co-writer William Robertson (Inspector Gadget 2) smartly maintain those elements for the new iteration. In fact, all the main beats from Don Rhymer's (Rio, Big Momma's House) original script remain intact.

12-year-olds Marshall (Malachi Barton, Stuck in the Middle) and Gilbert (Christian J. Simon, Sydney to the Max) are best friends despite being diametrically opposed when it comes to horror movies; Marshall can't get enough of them, decorating his entire room with monster masks, toys, and posters, while Gilbert is afraid of his own shadow. When they suspect their creepy neighbor, Kubot (Brent Stait, Andromeda), of stealing an ancient Egyptian mummy, the boys team up with their new classmate, Amy (Sophia Hammons), to sneak into his house and inadvertently bring the artifact back to life.

Like many of fiction's best monsters, the mummy (Phil Wright) - named Harold, in tribute to Marshall's hot sauce-loving grandfather - is not as frightening as he looks; he's merely misunderstood. The kids secretly befriend the lovable oaf, forming a bond similar to The Monster Squad. Upon learning that Harold only wants to be reunited with his love, they help him on his journey. But it's easier said than done, as Kubot and his goons are after him, and they only have until the end of Halloween to return him to his resting place before he turns to dust.

Zamm and Robertson make some minor tweaks, most of which serve to contemporize the story. They play up the fish-out-of-water element with Harold encountering modern amenities like an autonomous vacuum and Siri-esque technology. Zamm also adds welcome diversity to the cast: Marshall is of Hispanic heritage, Gilbert as well as Marshall's mother's boyfriend (Jaime M. Callica, Tales from the Hood 3) are Black, Amy has two fathers, and the resident monster expert in whom the kids confide (Melanie Brook) is a young woman.

In addition to the monster in his life, Marshall faces common adolescent problems like struggling to accept his parents' divorce and conflicts with the school bully. The three child leads are likable and have a natural rapport. Stait, a veteran character actor, chews the scenery appropriately, while Wright utilizes his dance choreographer background to bring the mummy to life. The mummy makeup design, by Joel Echallier (1922, Freaks), is standard but effective, featuring an off-set jaw.

Don't expect any radical changes from Under Wraps to justify its existence; it's more like Disney dug up the film's mummified remains and gave its sarcophagus a fresh coat of paint - and there's nothing wrong with that. It was made for a new generation, and hopefully it helps expose the target audience to the genre in an innocuous way. For a TV movie filmed on a limited budget in Canada during the pandemic, it never feels too cheap (although the third act’s much-hyped Halloween carnival is a tad underwhelming). It never feels dangerous and borders on corny at times, as one might expect from a horror movie for children, but it's a fun a Halloween treat nevertheless.

Under Wraps premieres on October 1 on Disney Channel and on October 8 on Disney+.

#under wraps #halloween #dcom #disney channel #disney+ #disney plus #disney channel original movie #review #article #malachi barton #christian j. simon #sophia hammons #remake #horror #horror movies

[shasta-reese]

William deserved so much better

I honestly feel bad for William, not just cuz he died needlessly, but just because the character could've had the potential to be so much better than how he was written honestly.

I didn't like his character since the beginning and not just because he was supposed to be a potential LI to Kara. I was willing to accept him as a LI because I knew that there was a slim chance that they'd make SC canon but then they introduced William as an absolute asshole. Which made everyone question "this is the guy Kara's supposed to like?". Turns out it was a cover yada yada yada, but that doesn't excuse the shitty behaviour he put out. Being undercover and trying to not be close to anyone doesn't have to entail being an absolute dick towards your co-workers, he literally could've just been aloof and standoffish without directly being mean to anyone, and that would've done the same thing to deter your co-workers from befriending you.

Then after Crisis (which I fucking loathe, literally messed up everything), they could've had a fresh start with writing William but they still wrote him as not quite likable but slightly more tolerable ig(imo). He had some good characteristics but his scenes always felt unnecessary and shoehorned into the plot to make the audience like him, which backfired. And the scenes where he hung out with the Superfriends like they'd known him for longer than they actually did felt insulting considering that this was during the fallout with Lena, who despite knowing the Superfriends longer and helping them countless times in moments of crisis was never really shown to be included in any group hang outs or game nights (save for that one time while she was dating James and right after she found out Kara was Supergirl from Lex).

Then by S6b it felt more right that he kinda became work buddies with Kara but still felt like he was just shoved into random scene that didn't quite make sense for him to be there. I didn't quite like the fact that it was him to have scene with certain characters that felt like it should've been with someone closer to the character, like when Alex was freaking out over proposing to Kelly it should've been Kara or J'onn and Kara's deep talk about not being able to being able to do it all felt like it should've been a Danvers sisters moment (it kinda made sense cuz William's a reporter too but so is Nia, literally all of Kara's issues that are linked to being a reporter could've been scenes with Nia but it seems they forget that Nia is even a reporter even though she's literally one of two Superfriends to have an actual job atm, but I'm digressing). The whole William being like the Superfriends' reporter is still stupid to me but that's the only way they could shove him in to 'bond' more with the core characters I guess? Still...idek.

Till the end if you asked me to summarise his character it would be him saying "I became a reporter to tell the truth" and "Did I mention I love to bake". At times its like they want us (the audience) to think he's smart (like him outsmarting Nyxly) but when faced with another dangerous situation (him being a human alone with Esme faced with Lex and Nyxly), the only thing he did right was telling Esme to hide without scaring her. He saw the alert of the security being breached and yet he didn't think to call for any kind of help? It's even worse that he had his phone with him the entire time, it's not like Lex & Nyxly portaled straight into where he was either, they took the fucking lift he absolutely had the time to dial any one of the Superfriends and yet all he did was take a knife and was spotted immediately. Even when he was in the chair he still could've called someone but instead chose to record this. We all know Lex monologues way too fucking much, he had time. But instead he died a completely avoidable death.

Like I'm sorry the writers did you so dirty William, they truly did you so dirty. William, like many characters on this show, deserved so much better than what was written. Even though I never particularly liked William, I sure as hell didn't want him dead of all things, what would've been better is that after he got shot in S5 is that he resign from CatCo and gone back to London. I know a lot of people in the fandom joked that we wouldn't care if he died but that absolutely doesn't mean that we wanted him to. We just wanted William to take more of a supportive role so that the main characters had more screen time and development before the show ended for good.

I didn't expect this to be turn out this long but I guess I had more thoughts than I expected. Anyways, everything I've stated is purely my own opinion, when I say "we" it's purely from what I've seen, I'm not trying to speak for anyone else. That is all.

#william dey #supergirl #superfriends

[oddlyhale]

As much as I begin to see the horrors of RWBY fndm and how crazed BB fans can be, there'll probably be no comparison to the psychotics I had to deal with in the HH fndm.

While I can totally find myself being tolerant with all RWBY ships, there's something territorial when it comes to HH ships. It's a different beast on its own, especially with the popular artists that can and will control their fanbase.

Boy do I have a tale of 2020 that had me deal with the mental gymnastics these wild shippers put me through. The sheer hypocrisy, the fear fans had of standing up to them, the collective harassment.

In a synopsis, before we start:

Hi, my name is Hale.

Alfa and Alex are probably the most psychotic people I’ve ever met when it comes to my online daily life. I used to think my ex-friends were the bane of my existence, but Alfa and Alex started making me think just how angelic my exes were in comparison.

So let’s begin.

When I first met the Double AAs, it was Alex first (awhile back in late-June 2020 during Vaggie Week) but it was indirect. I was on my Instagram when I was tagged by a random user in something Alex had drawn. This was when I first saw the kill art of Vaggie. I was so upset that I had yelled at this random user for tagging me, as well as showing it via screencap on my twitter, as a warning to never do this to me to my followers. Keep in mind, I had censored Alex’s name from the screencap, not the random user.

However, Alex saw this somehow and became hysterical, thinking I was targeting him for what he drew. This caused an uproar of his fans to come attack me, and it did cause me to become scared and get away from my account. Alfa decided to insert herself into the mix, but I didn’t care enough for her to say anything. It was mostly Alex and how much he was “scared” and cried about the “fandom being so hateful and scary.” He went private for a while I believe, but Alfa was still going hard at me and sending more of her fans to come harass me.

If Alex ever says he is a strong and brave man, don’t believe him. He fears the HH fandom.

Anyhow, after Alfa’s fans had done their best to gaslight me, I didn’t give in. In fact, I made amends with the random user that tagged me. Somehow they assumed I would like the art of Vaggie being killed, which was childish to even believe in. Nonetheless, I forgave them, and we moved on from there.

But even when we both resolved this together, Alfa and Alex decided that it would be fun to make this “kill Vaggie art” a meme, or trend. With their huge followings combined, they were able to get their artist fans to join in and start creating so much hate art of Vaggie. Many of them drew her head being cut off, mutilated, raped and cheated on.

Alfa and Alex adore gaslighting the hell out of people. While they draw such hideous things, they will go ahead and say, “but it’s just fiction, it’s not real,” and call you psychotic for even caring so much about their bad behaviour. I can only imagine what Alfa’s husband goes through everyday since Alfa loves to make people second-guess themselves often.

Keep in mind, Alfa and Alex are the same people who will cry and shake when their fictional ship is invalidated and written out. They often wish nothing good for Viv and her team that are providing these ungrateful children with the show and content they so badly want. It shows you just how privileged they had grown up as children, doesn’t it?

This wasn’t fun, it was horrible. I didn’t realize just how many toxic people existed in the HH fandom until this “trend” began to spread.

But the funny thing that I'll never forget is how apeshit Alfa went when I had the audacity to draw Alastor plus sized. She accused me of being a pedophile, supporting MAPs. Even though she leans towards being pro-ship (likes incest, OK with lolicon, will condone drawing necophilia.) But me? Having the sheer audacity of drawing Alastor fat? It burned her so bad.

As well, this was being pushed on the VAs during a small livestream. The chat wouldn’t stop asking, “what do you think of the Vaggie kill art going around?” Of course the VAs ignored these questions, but it was really rude to even ask these things. Especially when Vaggie’s VA was in the same livestream.

But then this trend was proven to be a lie, by Alex’s own words. He dropped the ball in a one-off conversation with an anti that “he only created this to get back at the Chaggie shippers.” So retroactively, this trend was worthless.

What also began to start becoming obvious was that Alfa was too afraid to do anything on her own, and thus, she will recruit some darlings to defend her. Alfa seems to have more defenders than she has any confidence to defend herself, and when she has no choice but to stand up for herself, she will buckle and hide. She is weak, is what I had learnt.

I decided to just ignore Alex and Alfa as much as I could. With a friend though, I was given updates of what was happening on the Double AAs’ side in the meantime, and it’s amazing to see just how vile they can be with their own fans and haters. Especially with their new puppy named Salty. (I think that’s their name, another weak ass bitch.)

As months went by, the major event that stirred from the AA camp was when they were harassing Pastel Sky. This would be where the big reveal of just how horrible the AAs and their friends truly are, when they have nobody to harass except for kids. HH has a wide audience of children involved in this fandom, hence why many other artists keep saying we should try to be good examples for them, and keep them safe. But not for the AAs.

Pastel was ruthlessly attacked by them and it was all unwarranted. What they were angry about was that Pastel had the nerve to have negative opinions when it came to AAs, and they broke their own rule of “don’t like then block.” Even Galactic Potatoes (Spuds) would go out of their way, again, to gaslight Pastel into believing that what attacks she received on Twitter was allowed, because Pastel was asking for it. Spuds is well-known to gaslight, a thing they had learnt from the AAs quite often.

Pastel was a minor at the time, and it really doesn’t matter if Pastel was just 17. I don’t care if Pastel was only 17 and that “well she’s almost 18,” because regardless of age, harassment is not the answer. Follow by that, fighting with minors is actually fucking stupid and braindead. Spuds tried very hard to justify why attacks were OK, and that Pastel “should learn” how to grow up. I then learnt that Spuds went into hiding afterwards.

That was until the Double AAs’ discord chats were exposed, showing that they were practically mouth-watering at Pastel’s pain, romanticizing her apparent abuse and trying to convince each other how her punishment on Twitter was correct. Even one (I believe was Jay because he loves me and wants me back) wished that I would die. This would be the third time he asked me to die indirectly, which justifies my points on how toxic and abusive they are.

This entire event seemed to have unraveled a new wave of truths, and it’s sad to know it had to take a literal minor to have their masks fall off.

In 2021, Alex was exposed to be a thief. Stealing commission money for “stress pills.” If Alex is on a path of drug addiction, I hope it’s not the case. That’s a terrible place to be, and hopefully he’ll be clean and grow up for once. I still don’t care enough about Alfa, after now knowing all she is, is just a dramatic housewife with nothing better to do in her life. Perhaps if they just got jobs instead of stealing money from fans, they’d be leading well-productive lives.

From what I understand, many of the toxic fans of the Double AAs have either dropped HH fandom, or have deleted their accounts. Good, I hope they stay gone. The fandom deserves better, not trash.

Needless to say, the best advice I can give to those in the HH fandom that come facing the Double AAs is to not be afraid of them.

Over time, once you get used to their behaviour, you come to realize that this is their default. They’re not likable, they’re not nice, and they aren’t appreciative of one singular thing you do for them (hence Alex stealing from his own fans.)

It’s their M.O., they are just that cruel. So don’t fear them, but challenge their behaviour. Don’t stoop to their level of wanting to draw hateful art, though, that will fuel them. Talking down to them like their idiots always works like a charm.

Anyways, thanks for reading.

If anybody from the Double AAs’ camp ever finds this and reads it, I just wanna say that you are doing a great job, sweety. Thanks for proving me right by the new year. I appreciate the honesty for once. It only took you a year, just think of what other things you’ll do in the next year.

#hazbin hotel #fndm critical #personal story #mature topics ahead #tw

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Reflecting on Superman and Lois season 1

Now that the season is over, its interesting to look back at a very stop start season. Its very difficult for a show to hold your interest with the type of scheduling problems this show had, and in its very first season. When the show was announced, I wasn't terribly surprised but I was also not overly excited. There has been a lot of Superman and Superman adjacent material that has come out before and after the announcement so I did wonder about what they could do new. In addition, while I certainly liked Tyler in his guest appearances in Supergirl, in Elseworlds, and in Crisis, he did feel like the inferior Superman in Crisis when he was opposite Brandon Routh's Superman who really looked and felt like Superman, even better than he did in Superman Returns. However, once the trailer dropped, I was sold. It was clear that the show was going for something a lot more cinematic and a lot more grounded than the previous Arrowverse shows. I did have some apprehensiveness over the teenage boys angle because teenagers can become very stereotypically irritating in shows and given that a good chunk of time was going to be dedicated to them, it was going to be vital for them not be so.

Having finished the season, I have to say that the execs and the writers have pulled off an excellent first season. I don't think I would call it the best season 1 in the Arrowverse. I still love The Flash season 1 over any other Arrowverse season and while I haven't seen it in a while, I love Arrow season 1 as well. This may come at 2nd or 3rd place based on further reflection. I do think its has some issues when it comes to the villain storyline and with the big action set pieces, but the film's heart is set at the right place and the characters are all very likable and you want to see conversations between the characters. That's when you know that the writers are doing a good job when you almost feel that the show should go back to the character moments.

Firstly, the idea of a matured Superman is what works wonderfully well. There is something wonderful about seeing Clark and Lois as a couple who have known and loved each other for over a decade. Closer to two decades I guess. Characters don't quite look their age tbh. Lois would have to be in her early 40's at least. But I can honestly overlook that. Bitsie and Tyler were already a very likable couple in Elseworlds and the show has just used that natural chemistry to brilliant effect. But the big relief was that Jordan Elsass and Alex Garfin are excellent as Jonathan and Jordan. I was initially a little worried that Jordan could be a little much, but both of them were excellent and one of the highlights of the season was the bond between the two brothers. Jordan and Jonathan have conflicts but they are brothers and they love and support each other unconditionally.

Jonathan could have so easily been the douchey, jealous brother but Elsass is honestly one of the mvp's of the season. You really care for Jonathan, even though he arguably has a slightly less meaty role in the story. I think Bitsie Tulloch is outstanding all season. She has shot up very high among all my favorite Lois Lanes. She's very different from the other versions and that makes her stand out. One of my favorite episodes was episode 8, which deals with Lois dealing with memories of her miscarriage along with almost losing Jonathan. She is excellent in that episode as is Elsass. Tyler is wonderful throughout. He's a strong Superman but his Clark is even more endearing. Little things like him being so psyched for the Harvest Festival, how he plays young Clark in flashbacks as someone distinctly different, him meeting Lois and working with her for the first time, the adorable "my mom made it" moment when Superman first saves a kid etc... He just embodies everything you know and love from the character. Wole Parks is another terrific addition. Initially you think he's an alternate version of Lex Luthor but it was genius idea to have him actually be John Henry Irons. There was something innately likable about him even when he was fighting Superman and we thought he was Lex. I loved how they handled the dynamic of being Lois' husband in another world and having a daughter. It makes for an interesting dynamic but it never gets into problematic territory because he is mature enough to know that this Lois isn't his Lois, but they also show his difficulty in dealing with that. I liked the bond he seemed to be forming with Jonathan. And I liked how he came along to be an ally with Superman.

The Cushings are ok. They play an important part in the season with Sarah Cushing being Jordan's love interest and Kyle being a big part of the how the villain story begins, with Lana also being a major character in the story. All three actors are excellent but Kyle does have the stereotypical doucheyness which was a little annoying for the first 10 episodes, however he does redeem himself in the final arc. I hope Lana gets to be a bit more active in the show because she does feel like a bit passive as a character. However, I did find that Sarah and Jordan romance actually pretty cute. Both actors did a nice job making them feel like awkward teenagers, dancing around their feelings for each other. Sam Lane is another character who starts out pretty unlikable but I warmed up to him by the end.

Where I think the show doesn't really work at full strength is the superheroic aspect of the show. The character drama in the show is great. I think it works gangbusters. The superhero plot of it all is a little meh. While Adam Rayner is perfectly fine as Edge/Tal-Rho, as a character he's just not that interesting. There is an interesting perspective there that he's sort of a mirror image to Clark where he got mistreated by people when he landed on Earth and that is how his worldview shaped that way, and he longed for family, but there isn't enough done on a character level with him. As a result, the last third of the season was a little iffy. The whole, build Krypton on Earth felt like a variation of Zod's plot in Man of Steel. The method is different but the eventual outcome is the same. I also don't know why all Kryptonians, apart from Lara, are homicidal maniacs, when they are said to be a peaceful race. The arc also becomes repetitive because there are like three climaxes. And I feel the finale was the weakest climax of the lot. Episode 10 or 12 would have served as better finales with a little tweaking. If I remember correctly, the original order was for 13 episodes and it got extended to 15, so this might be an explanation to why it feels this way. The action is fairly by the numbers. While it looks like there is clearly more money on display here than say for Supergirl or The Flash, the action scenes aren't particularly exciting or inventive.

While I am not super high on the finale, I am mostly happy with how things wrapped up. I think they should have had Tal-Rho die tragically because I really don't think he's interesting enough to be brought back again. The arrival of Natalie Irons will surely be a source of some emotionally charged scenes. i hope there is some character bonding between the her and the brothers. Jonathan seemed pretty interested in meeting her when he saw videos of her. I do wonder how the show will continue to incorporate Smallville as a setting. Season 1 obviously had a very specific plot based reason to be in Smallville, given Edge's plot was based in Smallville. But I can't imagine every big bad will have Smallville based plot. But the characters are all settled in Smallville, with the Cushings and Lois buy half the Gazette and running it with Christy. So that's going to be an interesting balancing act that they have to do. I hope they can bring in some traditional superheroics as well because Superman rogues gallery is rich enough. Out of the episodes, I think 6-8 were my favorites, and the flashbacks in episode 11 were incredibly charming. While the season is not flawless I don't think it completely nailed the superheroic heights that it was aiming for, it was a really entertaining season of tv. An 8/10 for me.

#superman and lois #lois lane #clark kent #superman #jonathan kent #jordan kent #lana lang #sam lane #john henry irons #tyler hoechlin #bitsie tulloch #elizabeth tulloch #jordan elsass #alex garfin #wole parks #adam rayner #emanuelle chriqui #dylan walsh #erik valdez #kyle cushing #sarah cushing #inde navarrette #morgan edge #tal rho #superman & lois

[calzona-ga]

She might change her mind; she certainly has before. But midway through an interview, Ellen Pompeo casually drops the bomb that after more than 360 episodes, the upcoming 17th season of “Grey’s Anatomy” may be its last.

“We don’t know when the show is really ending yet,” Pompeo says, answering a question that was not at all about when the show might end. “But the truth is, this year could be it.”

Pompeo has played Meredith Grey — the superstar surgeon around whom “Grey’s Anatomy” revolves — since its start. The show, created by Shonda Rhimes, premiered on ABC on March 27, 2005, and became an immediate, noisy hit. Since then, for a remarkably long time in Hollywood years, the drama has been among the most popular series on TV, even as the landscape of television has changed seismically. At its Season 2 ratings height, the program drew an average audience of 20 million viewers. And all these years later — in a TV universe now divided by more than 500 scripted shows —“Grey’s” ranks as the No. 1 drama among 18- to 34- year-olds and No. 2 among adults 18 to 49. In delayed, multiplatform viewing, Season 16 averaged 15 million viewers.

Strikingly, technology is such that teenagers who were born when the show premiered, and later binged “Grey’s” on Netflix, watch new episodes live with their parents. The series has spawned two successful spinoffs for ABC, “Private Practice” (which ran from 2007 to 2013) and “Station 19” (which enters its fourth season this fall). “Grey’s Anatomy” has been licensed in more than 200 territories across the world, translated into more than 60 languages, and catapulted the careers of music artists — from Ingrid Michaelson and Snow Patrol to Tegan and Sara and the Fray — whose songs have played during key emotional sequences.

In its explosive initial success, “Grey’s Anatomy” was an insurgent force in popular culture. The Season 1 cast featured three Black actors — Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr. and Isaiah Washington — as doctors in positions of power at the Seattle hospital where the show is set, and Sandra Oh played the ambitious intern Cristina Yang, who would become Meredith’s best friend. For the women characters, the “Grey’s” approach to sex was defiant and joyful, starting in the pilot with Meredith’s one-night stand with Derek (Patrick Dempsey), who turned out to be one of her bosses at the hospital.

Rhimes presented these images to the world like they were no big deal, when in fact, nothing like “Grey’s” had ever been seen on network television. Krista Vernoff has been the “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner since Season 14, as anointed by Rhimes, and was the head writer for the first seven seasons. She remembers the moment she realized how radical “Grey’s” was — a medical show driven entirely by its characters instead of their surgeries — as she watched an episode early in Season 1. “My whole body was covered in chills,” Vernoff recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, we thought we were making a sweet little medical show — and we’re making a revolution.’”

Still, no one expected “Grey’s Anatomy” to become the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history, outlasting “MASH” and “ER,” the previous record-holder. Since 2005, “Grey’s” has inspired countless women to become doctors, and along the way, its depiction of illness has even saved a few lives. The show has remained popular through three presidential administrations, the Great Recession, tectonic shifts in how people watch TV and two cultural reckonings — one feminist, one anti-racist — that demonstrate how ahead of its time “Grey’s Anatomy” has always been.

And they’re not done yet. When Season 17 premieres on Nov. 12, “Grey’s Anatomy” will tackle the subject of the coronavirus as experienced by the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, all while filming under strict COVID-19 protocols. The season is dedicated to frontline workers. And Pompeo, a producer on “Grey’s” — whose Meredith has removed a live bomb from a patient’s body, was in a plane crash, was widowed after Derek died in a car accident, was beaten nearly to death by a patient and, in a separate incident, actually did die briefly after a ferry accident — is intent on making the show top itself once again.

“I’m constantly fighting for the show as a whole to be as good as it can be. As a producer, I feel like I have permission to be able to do that,” Pompeo says. “I mean, this is the last year of my contract right now. I don’t know that this is the last year? But it could very well could be.”

Pompeo has been refreshingly transparent about her fight to become the highest-paid female actor on television, having detailed a few years ago how she negotiated a paycheck for more than $20 million a year. She clearly knows what she’s doing with these frank pronouncements as well.

As Pompeo laughs over the phone from her car, she says in a near shout: “There’s your sound bite! There’s your clickbait! ABC’s on the phone!”

The “Grey’s Anatomy” team — led by Rhimes and executive producer Betsy Beers — created the first season in a vacuum, because the show did not have an airdate. The 2004-05 season was a comeback year for ABC because “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost,” both of which debuted that fall, became phenomena — not only ratings successes but also watercooler events.

But at “Grey’s,” Rhimes was getting noted to death by network president Steve McPherson. According to Vernoff, McPherson — who resigned in 2010 under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations — stonewalled with “pushback every step of the way,” as ABC’s then- head of drama, Suzanne Patmore Gibbs, fought for the show. Vernoff was close with Patmore Gibbs, who died in 2018, and recalls her talking about her clashes with McPherson.

“He just didn’t get it; he didn’t like it,” Vernoff continues. “Honestly, I’m going to say, I don’t think he liked the ambitious women having sex unapologetically.”

Wilson, when she was cast as Miranda Bailey on “Grey’s,” was a New York theater actor (“Caroline, or Change”) relatively new to series television. But she was well aware of the network’s issues. “We took a creative break around the Christmas holiday, which to me meant ‘Oh, we’re out of a job.’”

Pompeo was frustrated: “Once we finally got an airdate, two weeks before that airdate they wanted to change the title of the show to ‘Complications.’”

In an email to Variety, McPherson disputed these assertions, saying, “I made the original deal with Shonda. I developed ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ at the studio. I picked it up at ABC.” He praised Patmore Gibbs, and added, “As for defaming me again and again, I don’t know what to say other than it’s sad that anyone feels the need to spread lies about me.”

Yet there was so little faith in the show that the writers were asked to clear out their offices when they finished the season. But to Vernoff, who had clicked right away with Rhimes, the early episodes had “felt like a labor of love.”

And it was worth the battle. “We fought for the right for Meredith and Bailey to be whole human beings, with whole sex lives, and not a network TV idea of likable,” Vernoff says. “You might not have been likable, but now you’re iconic.”

As far as the medicine went, the cases were often ostentatious. “Every kind of crazy accident that had ever caused terrible harm to any human ever, that was our homework at night,” Vernoff says. It was up to Zoanne Clack, an emergency room doctor-turned-writer, to be a sounding board in the writers’ room. She began as the only doctor on staff during the first season, and is now an executive producer. “What was interesting was that the writers don’t have those boundaries because they don’t know the rules, so they would come up with all of these scenarios, and my immediate thought was like, ‘No way!’” Clack says. “Then I’d have to think about it and go, ‘But could it?’”

When the program finally premiered — on a Sunday night after “Desperate Housewives” — to massive ratings, it was a shock to the cast and crew, given that they had shot the first season under a cloud, Pompeo says, adding, “So the fact that the numbers were that huge the first time we aired was a big f–k-you to McPherson!”

With Season 2 now a given, everything changed, Vernoff says: “It was like a hurricane-force gale, and everyone was just trying to hold on.” They had made 13 episodes for Season 1, airing nine of them and holding the final four for Season 2 — Meredith finding out that Derek was actually married (to Addison, played by Kate Walsh) had felt like the perfect finale. But upon the writers’ return, Vernoff says, the feeling was “Holy s—. We have to make 22.”

The entire cast — mostly unknown actors like Katherine Heigl as the sunny Izzie Stevens, T.R. Knight as the chummy neurotic George O’Malley, and Justin Chambers as the troubled, secretly vulnerable Alex Karev — had become famous overnight. For Wilson, whose Bailey was the stern teacher the interns called “the Nazi,” it was a new experience. “Folks were scared to talk to me, like in the store or in the Target — people would just kind of leave me alone,” she says. “It was like, ‘What’s going on?’”

According to Vernoff, “Paparazzi were following the cast to work — it was wild.”

The mid- to late-2000s were the height of glossy gossip magazines such as Us Weekly (and its copycats), as well as the inception of TMZ and Perez Hilton as celebrity-hounding, news-breaking forces that fueled (and soiled) the fame-industrial complex. The cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” was firmly in the sights of these new, often toxic forces in media.

Pompeo says the cast was so talented that it “was all worth it” — but yes, the transition to stardom was hard for the group: “At the time, it was just a real combination of exhaustion and stress and drama. Actors competing with each other — and envious.”

Heigl, Knight and Isaiah Washington all went through press cycles that made the show seem scandal-prone. To rehash it all now seems pointless; you can look it up. Washington was fired in June 2007. Knight and Heigl asked to be written out of the show preemptively, in Seasons 5 and 6, respectively.

Vernoff and the other writers were watching the internal messes unfold. They had to deal with how the fallout affected the show’s plot, as when Washington was fired just as Burke, his character, was about to marry Cristina. “When word comes down that an actor is leaving the show, and what you’ve got scripted is a wedding …” Vernoff trails off, laughing.

“There was a lot of drama on-screen and drama off-screen, and young people navigating intense stardom for the first time in their lives,” she continues. “I think that a lot of those actors, if they could go back in time and talk to their younger selves, it would be a different thing. Everybody’s grown and changed and evolved — but it was an intense time.”

Pompeo doesn’t want to talk about what happened with individual actors from the show, because when she has in the past, “it doesn’t get received in the way in which I intend it to be.” But she does make a point about the way television is produced. “Nobody should be working 16 hours a day, 10 months a year — nobody,” she says. “And it’s just causing people to be exhausted, pissed, sad, depressed. It’s a really, really unhealthy model. And I hope post-COVID nobody ever goes back to 24 or 22 episodes a season.

“It’s why people get sick. It’s why people have breakdowns. It’s why actors fight! You want to get rid of a lot of bad behavior? Let people go home and sleep.”

Debbie Allen would eventually be Pompeo’s savior in that regard, but that was years away. Allen — an actor and a dancer — began her directing career when she was on the 1980s TV series “Fame” as a “natural progression” because, she says, “I was in charge of the musical numbers, and so many directors didn’t really know how to shoot them.” She went on to be a prolific director and producer, most notably overhauling NBC’s “A Different World” after a tumultuous first season. As a fan of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Allen wanted to work on the show, and in Season 6, she was hired to direct. To prepare for it, Allen shadowed Wilson, who had been tapped to direct by executive producer-director Rob Corn. (“He came to me and said, ‘You should direct,’” says Wilson, who has now helmed 21 episodes. “And I said, ‘OK.’ Because I didn’t know what else to say.”)

Directing that sixth-season episode led to Allen’s fruitful relationship with “Grey’s.” In Season 8, Rhimes wrote Allen into the show to play Catherine, a star surgeon, a love interest for Richard Webber (Pickens) and the mother of Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams). Ahead of Season 12 in 2015, Allen became the show’s EP/director. Her duties included hiring all of the directors, weighing in on scripts and casting, and, as Allen puts it, “minding that people feel good about themselves.” Several years before the revived #MeToo movement would lead to calls for systemic changes behind the camera in Hollywood, Allen set a goal of hiring 50% women directors. She also increased the number of Black men who directed “Grey’s” during her first season as executive producer, among them Denzel Washington. (When she sold him on it, she recounts, he said to her, “I’m going to say yes, Debbie Allen.”)

Pompeo and Allen are close. Allen began her new role the year after Dempsey left, “at a time when we were really broken,” Pompeo says. “And so much of our problems were perpetuated by bad male management. Debbie came in at a time when we really, really needed a breath of fresh air, and some new positive energy.”

Pompeo continues with a laugh: “Debbie really brought in a spirit to the show that we had never seen — we had never seen optimism! We had never seen celebration. We had never seen joy!”

According to Pompeo, Allen began advocating for her to have more humane hours — Fridays off (Pompeo: “And I was like, ‘What? What? Fridays off?’”) — and for the show to shoot 12-hour days maximum, and ideally no more than 10 hours (Pompeo: “And I was like, I love this woman.”).

Allen speaks affectionately about her bond with Pompeo. “Coming out of Boston, she’s so earthy and real in a way that you might not know,” Allen says. “There’s a sisterhood between us — I guess you would say it’s almost a Blackness that exists between us. And she’s part of our tribe.”

Allen has been a key member of the “Grey’s Anatomy” brain trust since Season 12, and two seasons later, Vernoff returned to run the show. She’d left at the end of Season 7, consulted on “Private Practice” for a few years, and then went to Showtime’s “Shameless” for five seasons. As her contract was set to expire, Rhimes asked Vernoff to lunch, and told her she wanted her to take over. “It felt like she was saying, ‘Hey, our kid needs you,’” Vernoff says.

Before accepting the offer, Vernoff had to catch up on the show. She had always written “Grey’s” as a romantic comedy, and what she saw on-screen during her binge was dark as hell — especially after Derek’s death. “If this show that you are currently making is the show that you want ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to be,” she recalls telling Rhimes, “I am, in fact, not the right writer for it.” But Rhimes was insistent, saying it was time for a change after the mourning period for Derek.

Vanessa Delgado, who started as a production intern during the seventh season and has worked her way up to being lead editor and co-producer, says the show’s trajectory shifted when Vernoff came back — it was a return to the original, saucier tone of “Grey’s.” “We changed the music completely,” Delgado says. “The dialogue felt lighter and more fun, and wewere having fun again.”

That lightness will be difficult to maintain this year, of course, when, as Allen puts it, “COVID is No. 1 on the call sheet right now.”

Vernoff at first wondered whether “Grey’s” should ignore the coronavirus, thinking the audience comes to the show “for relief.” But the doctors in the writers’ room convinced her this wasn’t the time for escapism, saying to her, “This is the biggest medical story of our lifetime, and it is changing medicine permanently.”

When they’ve had doctors and nurses come speak with them this season, Vernoff says, “they were different human beings than the people we’ve been talking to every year. And I want to honor that, tonally. I just want to inspire people to take care of each other.”

Pompeo, who is not shy about offering criticism, sounds positively enthusiastic: “I’ll say the pilot episode to this season — girl, hold on.

“What nobody thinks we can continue to do, we have done. Hold on. That’s all we’re going to say about that!”

Pompeo has a few more months before she decides whether she wants to continue — and as Rhimes and ABC have made clear in recent years, the show will likely end when she leaves. “I don’t take the decision lightly,” Pompeo says. “We employ a lot of people, and we have a huge platform. And I’m very grateful for it.”

“You know, I’m just weighing out creatively what can we do,” she says. “I’m really, really, really excited about this season. It’s probably going to be one of our best seasons ever. And I know that sounds nuts to say, but it’s really true.”

Vernoff doesn’t worry about the creative well drying up. “We’ve blown past so many potential endings to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ that I always assume it can go on forever,” she says.

And Wilson knows how important “Grey’s” is to its audience, in that the characters have essentially become people who “live in their house.” As one of only three actors who’ve been on “Grey’s” since the beginning — the other is James Pickens Jr. — Wilson is in it until the end: “In my mind, Bailey is there until the doors close, until the hospital burns down, until the last thing happens on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ That is her entire arc.”

Whenever the show does conclude, part of its legacy will be about the talent it launched into the world, beginning with Rhimes, who will soon release her first shows for Netflix, after her company, Shondaland, made a lucrative deal with the streamer in 2017.

But it will also be about the characters of “Grey’s Anatomy”— mostly women and people of color — who are trying to make the world a better place as they find friendship, love and community.

“The show, at its core, brings people together,” Pompeo says. “And the fact that people can come together and watch the show, and think about things they may not have ordinarily thought about, or see things normalized and humanized in a way that a lot of people really need to see — it helps you become a better human being. If this show has helped anybody become a better human being, then that’s the legacy I’d love to sit with.”

#grey's anatomy #Ellen Pompeo #chandra wilson #Debbie Allen #krista vernoff #season 17 #variety #news

[camelely]

13rw S4 Fix

 So i did one of these for last season and I think now that I’ve had some time to think about S4 I’ll do the same. While last season I thought the issue was one character being overused. But here it seems like there were multiple smaller things that could have improved the whole season Again I’m keeping the same basic plotline and characters :) 

1) Winston 

Have Winston stay at Hillcrest. Him moving to Liberty did nothing for the main plot and he was basically a red herring through most of it. Let him try are befriend the characters from the outside. He can learn about Jess from Bryce’s trial and the news coverage and then try to befriend her at Monet’s. This is where he meets and later starts to date Alex. Since he doesn’t go to liberty school Alex sees him as a sort of escape and lets him in. Clay and Ani dont tell everyone about him because they dont know he is trying to get close to them. It makes them seem less like assholes and more like people. They don’t mention his connection to Monty because they dont realize how close he is getting to answers. Clay can still suspect he did the graffiti, after all it was a break in and a non student could have done that. Plus Estella is another red herring in the school. She serves that purpose so let Winston be the outsider looking in. His arc would still be about knowing a different Monty and not knowing who is was at Liberty but now he is literally the outsider who didn’t really get Monty, rather than it just being a figurative thing at the prom. You can still have the prom scene it would just be entirely imagined rather than the half imagined thing they went with. I think they overused the people talking to ghosts thing so here it would be a  fantasy of Monty and the relationship they had rather then a representation of what could have been. However I don’t think this would have retracted from the point. Also play him up, he is a sympathetic antagonist and it sucks how much he is sidelined for Diego. I didn’t hate Diego but Winston and him basically went through the same arc. They were pro Monty and ending up dating a member of the group, couldnt believe that member was involved and then learned something about Bryce and Monty agreed to move on and just did. All while saying they will alway care for that member of the group. It was an unnecessary rehash. Having WInston be the outsider looking in and Diego the insider looking out also lets their characters compliment each other. They should still work together, just have Winston contact him looking for Monty’s friends. It’s simple. 

2) Tyler and Tony 

Oh Tyler. The character who seems to be in the middle of everything despite never doing anything himself. I didn’t mind his arc of helping the cops find the guys who sold the illegal guns. But Tony’s suspicions, eventually leading to Clay and Tony finding out the truth and just moving on never really go anywhere. I think  it would be cool if Tyler tells Tony, despite the cops telling him not to tell anyone, because he trusts Tony. But Tony, who has had bad run ins with the cops, thinks it is a bad idea. He doesn’t want Tyler taking the deal. Tyler says its the only way the guns wont be traced back to them but Tony thinks teh cops are planning to double cross them to mind out more about Bryce and Monty. At the same time he starts getting close to that cop that takes him boxing and helps him get into college (i dont remember his name for the life of me lol). Tyler sees this as being hypocritical and pulls away. Tony still suspects Tyler is behind the lock down because he is pulling away and Tony is getting paranoid. The rest of their story can still be the same but this way they can show Tony’s paranoia and his loyalty. 

As for Tyler and Estella, It was fine. The scene of them in the bathroom was really powerful, being in the bathroom with a de la cruz and becoming comfortable because isnt her brother was really nice. This could even be another reason Tony and Tyler fight. Tony can be paranoid that Tyler is trusting her too quickly and think she will turn on him. 

3) Jess

Her arc with the principal, being scared and agreeing with the security measures before she sees them in action was really interesting. Focus more on it and less on her manipulating Diego. I did like parts of that arc for her so I don’t want it completely gone but I do think focusing on her working with the principal would have been cool. I would call more attention to her first meeting and her agreeing with the measures and slowly show her change her mind and start to turn against them. Maybe even have an early scene of her and ANi talking about it and have Jess admit she feels safer. Move the creepy cop trying to pat her down to the second or third day. So she can have a moment where they make her feel safe before the negative experience. I loved the protest and a bit better build up would have made it amazing

Her arc with Ani. They fought over Bryce... It should have been a conversation. Not a moment where Ani judges Diego and then they argue. I still think this arc should have been Chloe and Jess and should have been in last season. But they had the opportunity to include Chloe this season and just didnt. I’ll talk about this a bit more in the Zach section but I think Chloe should have been at Prom and the moment between the Ani Jess and Chloe should have been then. It would be right after Jess and Ani made up and would have been cool. 

I don’t think she should have had scenes where she saw and talked to Bryce. Yes it created some powerful moments but they could be reworked. Have WInston use his wealth to commission a positive thing in the paper about Bryce and Monty and have her talk to his idealized photo of Bryce. I will mention it in the Clay section but her hallucinations detracted from his journey with mental health. 

4) Clay

Okay two thing here the first is his arc with mental health, hallucinations, and blackouts. They used it for drama and I wish they hadnt. It should have been about him healing. I didnt mind the way they handled the realization for clay that it was him doing everything (Did they explain the symbol he kept drawing because I missed it if they did? or i just forgot because it was that forgettable lol) but I think the whole thing could have been handled a lot better and a more educated fan then I can provide a better explanation for what exactly was off about it. I will say the the therapy sessions were repetitive and I know thats realistic but for a tv show its boring. The scene were Clay goes to his home was weird and low key scary. I understand the purpose but  I wish he had called him and asked to meet at his office instead. A more likable and relatable journey for Clay with his mental health would be really good for a show that was accused of glorying suicide (personally i dont think it did. My inbox is open if you wanna talk though :))

The second thing is the phantom phone caller. I hate this trope so it might just be me but this is so stale. There are exactly two ways it could go. The person could know everything and be a real problem or the person could be fishing for information and not be a real problem. The whole thing was predicable since Winston had red herring written all over him, Estella was barely developed, and on this show it is always the football guys. Instead let the pranks be smaller and less crazy. Like these boys had to coordinate a lot to mess with Clay. There should be more than one prank and end with a Monty doll and Clay holding a knife to set up the camp episode. But they should be pranks, not the phantom caller psychological torture bs. The blood shower can also happen just on a different day. Clay can be confused about what is real and what isnt making him even more worried about his blackouts and again assuming the mental health arc is handled well, the pranks can be a real part of it. Dumping him in the pit on the camping trip also seemed kinda attempted murdery so maybe do something like tie him to a tree of the path or in a small dirt ditch not a rocky pit where if he hit his head or fell weird the team would all be murderers. 

5) Alex

His arc with Charlie was one of my favorite stories this season. I was also not bothered by him getting close to and exploring his sexuality with Winston and Zach. I’m in the minority but I’m glad Zalex wasn’t made canon and Zach was used to be an effective (kinda) ally and good friend. Plus this way Zalex can live on in the fandom untouched or ruined by the writers interpretation. 

They should have given us Alex in therapy. He tried to kill himself had a traumatic injury, an arc with steroid abuse, and an arc about killing someone. All of which were forgotten this season. All the other characters seemed to be dealing with Bryce and Monty, why not focus on Alex? Even if it isnt in therapy just let him exist in his feelings.

6) Zach

I have one major issue with Zach’s arc, the lack of Chloe. She was the reason he almost killed a man. Let them date, let him start to spiral while dating her. She doesnt know what he did. Have them grow apart on screen but her still connecting to him and not wanting to give up on him. They should go to prom together. I know the hooker was supposed to represent Zach turning into Bryce with the hookers and the drunken sex/potential rape  and cocaine. But Chloe fills the same comparison. He brings cocaine she is not okay with it, He tries to convince her to have sex in the back she is not having it. Maybe he tries to convince maybe it becomes a bit worse than that but she breaks up with him at prom and leaves early. She sees Bryce in him, she doesnt have to say it but you can see it on her face and she walks away when her mind and heart tells her to this time no making excuses. Boom Chloe actually has an arc. As for Zach this is a big wake up call for him he sees what we had become. I know it is later in the actual show but I think it should be in the prom episode so he can have a better conclusion in the finale, like the other characters. The whole season was a downward spiral and I wish we got to see more of him pulling himself out of it. If the whole finale is him getting better even though he wont be all the way done he will be in a better place up the end.

7) Justin

Okay the hard one. I think the writers really wanted to kill him. I mean a fan favorite, who did bad things, and the death would be in the series finale. this is a tv writer’s drug of choice. So I’m gonna do a fix where I still kill him first then to the ideal version. Ok so first Justin dies. No HIV/AIDS. It was out of nowhere, unneeded, and seemed a bit insensitive. If you want it to be related to his drug use, make it so he got a bad batch when he relapsed. Or maybe organ failure. If it doens’t need to be drug related it can be an accident or someone he knew on the streets getting revenge, like that drug dealer we spent time with last season. Or if Justin helps Tyler put the gun salesmen behind bars then have it be retaliation for that. He can still go to the hospital and have goodbyes but it wont be an aids diagnosis and death in the same episode. I know they had signs in earlier episodes but the timeline is still really fucked up...

An ideal ending would have him live. He can still pass out at Prom. The diagnosis can be a combination of stress and withdrawal symptoms.He can be the red herring for the person in the coffin. If Justin lives he can represent hope. He can show the audience that you can get better and things can work out. Even if you are sick and think you will die you can do better be better and live in a better world. Plus I love him and really wanted him to be happy. The message would be you can get out of a bad situation and wold have ended a sad series on a positive note. Even if you are a bad person. Even if you have bad circumstance. Even if it feels like the world is against you, it can get better if you put in the effort. Which felt like the message the show was going for in eariler seasons by showing the people on the tapes doing better but abandoned this last season.

So who would I put in the coffin. Ani’s mom. Now I know she wasn’t a well liked character and her mom wouldn’t have the same audience or character reaction Justin’s death did. But this version isn’t about making the audience sad. Ani would finally have a plot that was really about her, her mom died, Bryce’s mom basically wants to provide for her. And she isn’t sure what to do. Justins funeral felt like it was overshadowed by graduation anyway. Now Ani’s moms absence and the funeral being overshadowed both make sense. She is going to college and doing what she can to honor her mom. And the death of a parent causes Clay to immediately appreciate his own family more. The theme in the first season with Clay was appreciating and acting on his feelings for Hannah before she was gone. Ani’s mom dying is a reality check for him and he know the most important things are his family and friends. Justin’s arc was about finding a family and he did. The core of the show is about family, friends, and the importance of  a strong support system. And starting it with a mother grieving her daughter and ending it with a daughter grieving her mother would be a cool full circle moment.

This post is really long so if you read all the way down Thank you! :) 

#13rw #13 reasons why #Thirteen Reasons Why #13rw spoilers #13 reasons spoilers #13 reasons why spoilers #13 reasons season 4 #13 reasons why season 4 #thirteen reasons why spoilers #clay jensen #Justin Foley #ani achola #zach dempsey #jessica davis #tyler down #tony padilla #alex standall #diego torres #winston williams #montgomery de la cruz #monty de la cruz #estella de la cruz #bryce walker #charlie st george #tw rape #cw rape #rape mention #tw suicide #cw suicide #suicide mention

[sunfortune]

please share your red white royal blue thoughts

i know so many people love that book and i dont have a problem with them especially gay/bi people bc we accept the gay rep we think we deserve 😔 BUT that book is SO…its like someone watched hamilton or something and immediately went home and wrote red white and royal blue

but even then, i knew that going in. i knew it was gonna be some corny white liberalism so i cant even get mad at that part bc i did that to MYSELF. the thing im MAD about is how BADLY the romance was written. 

like even putting aside the fact that you can tell that book is written by a white person immediately bc she writes alex like EVERY white person writes a latino character. AND putting aside the fact that you can not go two pages in that book without seeing a shoehorned pop culture reference thats trying so hard to be cool

AND even looking past the TERRIBLE politics. (bc they ARE bad) 

the MOST annoying part of that book is how it just did NOT bother with any character dynamics or chemistry between the two main characters. literally 99% of the appeal of their relationship lies in their respective titles.

its like someone was like “wouldnt it be so cute if the prince of england fell in love with the first son of the us?” and then came up with fucking NOTHING beyond that 

like its supposed to be enemies to friends to loves….but its straight up just not

the reason enemies to friends to loves is such a popular trope is bc it REQUIRES character development and strong character dynamics. literally the name of the trope is a step by step guide: enemies TO friends TO LOVES

this book doesnt do ANY of that despite claiming to. its just instant gratification. like for 2 people who hate each other youd expect a gradual shifting in feelings and development of their relationship…but you dont get any of that, its just completely skipped over?? the author just constantly substitutes character development for out of place sex scenes. and sometimes it feels borderline fetishizing

ALSO this is maybe the FIRST time ive read a book where the main character (alex) of the romance has been infinitely more interesting and compelling than the person theyre falling in love with

henry is SO badly written and it hurts the book more than ANY of the other things ive mentioned. she straight up did not give that dude a personality. his personality starts with “he is the prince of england” and ends right there too 

alex is more interesting on his OWN than he is with henry

like those in between moments of alex just going about his life are more compelling than the one of him with his love interest

and that should NOT be the case in a romance???

theres scenes where alex is thinking about henry that just feel So weird bc henry doesnt warrant that reaction at all. i was literally reading the book like WHAT does alex see in henry? what is THERE to SEE? 

character wise the author was really like: alright were gonna make alex driven and compassionate and funny and brave and for henry. well he is a prince….and that should be enough for him to be a likable main character LIKE???

i did like alexs character. unfortunately. he deserved better than this book

and then theres just little nonsenses like 

making alex mixed and his white mom the president who divorces her mexican husband (which is like woke of her?) INSTEAD of making his mom, mexican AND the president??? like if youre creating an alternate universe at least go all out

his white mom naming her mexican son after alexander hamilton [looks directly into the camera]

ALL of alex/henrys arguments in the beginning were literally like tumblr arguments from 2013 where american and british people argued about who was more ethical like bro STOP this is so embarrassing for both of you

when they first met henry made a joke about getting waterboarded?? and they both kept talking about their countries atrocities in a tongue in cheek sarcastic way like BRO shut the Fuck up 

theres a scene where alexs president moms talking about apologizing to netany*hu/israel out of nowhere LIKE?

#(straight people who love that book absolutely belong be in jail tho) #LONG post #Anonymous #books #rwrb sf

[theres-a-goldensky]

BL Show Review Series - Until We Meet Again

The next show I am going to review is (spoilers) my favorite BL to date. It’s called Until We Meet Again, and it is fantastic.

Disclaimer that these are my own opinions, and I don’t know where the BL community as a whole stands on these shows. If I disliked a show you loved or visa versa, no disrespect is intended!

MASTERLIST OF BL SHOW REVIEWS

Mild Spoiler Warning and TW: brief mentions of suicide and homophobia

Until We Meet Again Rating: 9 / 10

I’ve put off writing about this show, because I’m finding it hard to articulate all of the reasons why the whole thing works so well. First of all, it needs to be said that whoever did the casting should get whatever the Thai version of an Emmy is, because every person involved in this show is so, so good. The standout, however, is Fluke as the main character, Pharm. 

Fluke is, in my humble opinion, unequivocally the best actor in the Thai BL world. So much of the emotional work is done by him, in a show that is very, very emotional, and he carries the weight of the narrative really well. This man can cry on cue, and I swear he can make himself blush on cue too. You believe every second of his performance, and he makes Pharm very likable, relatable, and sympathetic without tipping over into helpless damsel territory.

Part of what makes the character so good is the quiet but firm way that he sticks up for himself. When Alex, the popular drama club president, starts to flirt with him, instead of running to Dean or meekly tolerating it, Pharm smiles politely and rejects him in a way that leaves no room for confusion. And when Dean does something that Pharm is uncomfortable with, Pharm forgives him with the gentle caveat that he never do it again. It’s said kindly, but you understand that Pharm means it, and Dean understands that too. 

Anyway, that’s a hundred words just about how much I love Pharm, and we haven’t even talked about the main relationship. See, this is why I haven’t written about this show yet. 

A quick overview of the show is that back in the late 80s, two university-aged men named Korn and In fell in love. However, their fathers disapproved, and Korn’s father was a mob boss who had tight control over his son. In despair, Korn kills himself and In, sick with grief, follows. 

(left: Korn, right: In)

Then, cut to modern times, we meet Pharm and Dean, who we quickly understand are the reincarnations of In and Korn, respectively. It’s Pharm’s first day at university, and while he’s there doing all the introduction stuff, he meets his future best friends, Team and Manaow, and locks eyes with Dean. 

Dean and Pharm both feel this connection, and their relationship is the sweetest, softest, kindest thing you will ever encounter in one of these series. Dean is a taciturn third year who is the president of the swimming club. He has plenty of female admirers, but he’s been looking for someone all his life. When he finds Pharm, he knows that his search is over. He is so gentle with Pharm, who is dealing with PTSD from In’s memories. At the same time, Dean doesn’t play any games. He makes it clear that he likes Pharm and wants Pharm to like him back. He never tries to hide his feelings with Pharm or anyone else. 

(left: Dean, right: Pharm)

Ohm, who plays Dean, has less to do than Fluke, because Dean is not the primary POV character of the show, and he’s much quieter overall. But what he does well is watching Pharm and touching him like he is the most important thing in the world. He’s open with his affection and never gets hostile or aggressive the way characters often do in these stories. He’s a big guy, but he’s very kind.

Korn and In’s story is told through flashbacks that are mainly meant to mirror Dean and Pharm in the present. It’s hard to watch their happiness when we know how it’s going to end up. Earth plays In, who patiently and insistently chases after Korn. His smile is like sunlight. Seriously, he is a gift, which makes it all the harder to watch him go through so much pain. Korn is much more stoic. I think of all of the characters, he’s the one I had the hardest time connecting with. He keeps a very stern face most of the time, but by the end, it still hurts seeing him suffer.

One of the key things that makes this drama different than other BLs is that it has a genuinely compelling plot. We get to watch as Dean and Pharm navigate their new relationship while trying to piece together what is happening inside their heads. They also need to figure out how much of what they feel for each other is them and how much of it is because of Korn and In’s memories. The story went places I truly wasn’t expecting at times and kept me interested the whole way through.

The supporting characters on this show are also great. The secondary couple is Pharm’s friend Team and Dean’s friend Win. Win is the vice president of the swimming club, and Team is a junior member of the club. They immediately have that playful, fighting vibe between them that is really fun to watch. 

(left: Team, right: Win)

Win’s character has lots of tattoos and piercings. He looks like a bad boy, but just like Dean, he’s actually very nice. He’s more mischievous and outgoing than Dean though. This makes him a better match for Team, who isn’t afraid to match Win’s attitude and return his teasing back at him. 

Oftentimes, the secondary pairings bore me a bit, but I loved, loved, LOVED Win and Team. They are getting their own series next year, and I cannot wait for it. 

Something else I want to point out about this story is that there are no Evil Female Characters. No clingy ex-girlfriends or scheming, jealous love rivals anywhere to be seen. But there ARE female characters, and they’re all great. Manaow, Pharm’s other best friend, is the main one. She’s played by Thai BL mainstay Sammy. Manaow is loud and friendly and supportive. She also gets her own boyfriend, though I wish we saw more of that relationship (give it to us in the sequel, pleassssse). Dean’s sister Del quickly joins their group of friends as well. Then there’s the less prominent members of Pharm’s cooking club. Female family members who also play big roles in the narrative. 

The show isn’t without its faults. The one BLARING example that comes to mind is product placement. Until We Meet Again has the most blatant and annoying product placement I have ever seen. It almost feels like the show is stopping and having the characters give full commercials mid-episode. I refuse to mention the names of the products, but they are highlighted in a ham-handed way that is even more crass when you contrast it with the quality of the rest of the show. The worst one, by far, is at least relegated to a sort of mini-story after the episode. It involves one character encouraging another to go to the sponsored clinic and get cosmetic work done. The whole thing is not just gross but also out of character for both of them. I’ve pretty much erased it from my mind. Capitalism can burn.

The other thing is that occasionally the pacing drags a bit. I enjoyed it, but the director lingers 5-10 seconds too long on some shots, especially those involving eye contact. This is normal for BLs, but not to this extent. There’s an almost-kiss scene that drags on for nearly a FULL MINUTE in an early episode. At this point, I’ve rewatched the show so many times that I know when to hit the skip 10 secs button to move things along at a faster clip. But the first time I watched, I was like, “OK, I get it. They’re looking at each other and remembering events from their past lives. You have thoroughly conveyed this.”

But those are comparatively minor gripes and didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment. Watch this show. Have tissues ready.

And if you’re interested in fanfic, I put together rec lists for multiple BL shows including this one that can be found here and here. 

MASTERLIST OF BL SHOW REVIEWS

(Send me an ask if you have a show you’d like me to review - with the understanding that I will be completely honest - or if there’s anything you think I forgot or got wrong in this review.) 

#until we meet again #uwma #bl review series #ohmfluke #deanpharm #dean x pharm #bounprem #winteam #win x team #kornin #korn x in #cooheart #kao x earth #thai bl #bl recs